The present invention relates to catch basins used to collect storm waters at the curb of a street or parking lot.
Storm drains and catch basins generally deploy square box with a table like top or cover having two or three closed sides and at least one open side that forms a drain hole for water to flow from the street and gutter into the square box. The square box serves as a junction for large buried drain pipes that carry the street run off to a safe location for disposal.
Such types of catch basins and systems are difficult to install precisely, as the bottom of the drain hole should be level with the street level, while the protective cover should be level with the sidewall. Thus, installation can require considerable labor and rework to properly install the box for adequate drainage performance as well as the top to avoid a discontinuity in the adjacent sidewalk or curb.
As most of the catch basin systems are pre-cast concrete, a method has been developed to use a fiberglass mold to cast the table like portion from concrete in the field. This permits the matching of exposed portion of the catch basin color and/or finish to match the adjacent sidewalk. However, such fiberglass molds are easily damaged or distorted. In addition, they require considerable labor to build wooden frames or dams to define the outside walls of the table like top portion. In additional, while it is possible to add to the mold an angle iron shaped strip to form a protective edging for the cast concrete, such strips are not stable in the mold and frequently delaminate, either due to distortion or floating of the mold in the wet concrete mix.
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide a catch basin system that is easier to install precisely, with minimum labor.
It is another objective to provide a catch basin system where it is simpler and requires less labor to match the color and/or surface finish of the adjacent sidewalk.
It is still another objective of the invention to provide a catch basin cover or lid is stronger and more durable.
Yet another objective of the invention to provide a catch basin system more compatible with the attachment of draining pipes from just below the ground
A further objective of the invention is to provide a cover or lid is easy to remove and replace if damaged.
A still further objective is to provide a method and article for casting lids in larger sizes than possible with existing fiberglass frames.
Another objective is to provide a method of casting strong, durable and robust gallery drain section for deployment along the curb adjacent to catch basins.